Another Kind Of Magic
by xSweetiePiex
Summary: What if music wasn't enough to heal Ruthie's broken heart? Who... or what... will she turn to? Set after The Magic Of Gershwin.
1. Loosen Up

**Hey! This is my first 7th Heaven fanfic! I hope you all like it! This takes place after "The Magic Of Gershwin." Please review! Comments/critiques/anything at allwelcome! **

**What if Ruthie needed more than music to heal her heart?**

Ruthie closed her eyes tightly. _"What am I doing?"_ She thought desperately to herself. This whole thing with Martin was killing her. She kept telling herself, and everyone else, that she was okay. But she knew she wasn't. She would **never** be okay.

Or at least, she thought she'd never be okay. Then she met Ryan Blake. Ryan was the "new kid" in class. He wore a black leather jack and baggy jeans. He was pretty cute, but Ruthie wasn't interested in him _that _way. She could never be interested in anyone but Martin.

Ryan was in detention with Ruthie all last week, but they never talked. Ruthie had ran into Ryan a few days later in the hall. He seemed okay, regardless of his reputation for being kind of wild, you know the "bad" kid in class.

"Hey, you were in detention last week, right?" Ryan had asked her.

"Yeah." Ruthie didn't seem too interested in him, or even talking to him.

"What were you in for?"

"Oh, nothing… just like everyone else." Ruthie smirked a little.

"No, really."

Ruthie sighed. "I was late for class."

"That's it? And you got detention all week?" Ryan was surprised to say the least.

"It's…. complicated." Ruthie concluded. "What about you?"

"Oh, nothing…." Ryan gave her a genuine smile. "Is something wrong? You look… flustered." Ryan was right. Her hair was a mess and she looked about as interested as she actually was. Ryan wasn't used to get blown off like this from the ladies.

"Yeah, kinda."

"Well, here's my number. Call me if you ever wanna… loosen up. Okay?" Ryan knew about the whole situation with Martin Brewer. He was knew to school, but in a town like this, word travels fast. Really fast. People don't easily keep secrets.

Ruthie remembered having no idea what Ryan meant when he said "loosen up." So, a few days later, she called him.

"Ryan?" Ruthie sounded drained.

"Couldn't resist, could you? I knew you'd call." Ryan answered, sounding very cocky.

"You said you knew how I could loosen up?" Ruthie's voice squeaked.

"I'll be over in a second." Ryan started. "Your dad's the preacher, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I know where you live. Be right over." Ryan knew where the church-owned house was. Ryan attended that church, as well. But only because his parents made him go.

"No! My parent's are home. And I'm not allowed to have people over unless I ask first."

"Then ask." Ryan sighed. What kind of parents did this kid have that she couldn't have friends over withouth permission beforehand? His parents didn't really care about that sort of stuff. Well, they did. But he didn't let them boss him around, except for the church thing. In his house, if you don't go to church, you can't use the car.

"Fine, Where do you want me to meet you?"

"At the library?" Ruthie suggested.

"The library?" Ryan paused. "Sure."

Ruthie walked to the library. It wasn't too far from her house. She found Ryan standing a few feet from the back entrance, smoking a cigarette. Ruthie's sensors went off. She was in a bad situation and she knew it. But she didn't care. For the first time, she just wanted the pain to go away.

"Hey" Ruthie greeted. Her eyes were puffy from crying. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun and she was wearing a hoodie. Ryan greeted her with a perfunctory hug.

"Here you go. First one's on the house. It'll help you loosen up." Ryan handed her the joint.

"Pot?" Ruthie gasped. "You're giving me pot?"

"Shut up, will you?" Ryan grabbed her wrist. "You want someone to hear? Isn't it enough we have to do this in a public place?" Ruthie looked troubled, so Ryan softened his voice. "Look, it'll help you forget. I promise." Ryan's eyes were knowing. Ruthie just nodded, without saying a word. "And don't tell anyone, okay?"

She tucked the joint safely in her jeans' pocket and started off on her walk home. Ryan offered her a ride, but she was shaking so much, she just wanted to walk it off. Besides, if she came back in a car, her parents would wonder.

"Hey, kiddo." Eric Camden greeted as Ruthie walked into the house. She looked pale. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine. I'm just going to work on… homework. Upstairs." Ruthie croaked out. Eric didn't want to push her too much. She had been through a lot and he knew how she felt about Martin, Sandy, and the baby.

Ruthie climbed up the stairs and walked into her room. She started for the bed, and then turned around and locked her door. The last thing she needed was someone walking in on her. She made her way to her bed and sat down. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and saw a sad, broken version of herself. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the joint. Studying it, she rationalized that it was only a piece of rolled paper. And, if it made her feel better, than what was the problem?

The lit the end and cautiously put it in her mouth. Breathing in, she stopped to cough. Ew! This stuff was gross! She took another puff, and it started to make her feel better. Everything was going to be okay.

She put the end into her mouth and breathed deeply.

_That was for Martin having sex with Sandy… even though he wanted to stay a virgin._

She breathed in again.

_This time, it was for the lost relationship that would never exist between her and Martin._

With more vengeance, she took another puff.

_This was for her never deserving Martin, never being good enough._

She exhaled.

_Why didn't Martin like her? What was wrong with her?_

She breathed in.

_She wasn't pretty enough. Or smart enough. That must be it._

She exhaled.

_Now, she couldn't remember why she was doing it. The thoughts stopped pouring out. She was relaxed and happy for the first time._

She put down what was now the dwindling butt of the joint. Ryan was right. This did make her feel better. And she needed more. Right now. The pain of Martin was long forgotten and the last thing Ruthie wanted to feel was that hurt coming back. Not even noticing the smoke in her attic bedroom, she found her cell phone and dialed Ryan's number…

**So... what do you think? Please review!**


	2. Different Reasons

**Sorry this next chapter took so long to post! Enjoy. As always, I don't own 7th Heaven. Please read and review!**

She heard the ringing through the receiver. Once, twice, three times. She was about to hang up when he answered.

"Hello?" Ryan's voice was cool and low.

"Hey." Ruthie choked out.

"Babe. I can tell you've tried my… medicine for the heart." Ryan's voice slurred together, or at least, that was what Ruthie thought.

"Yeah. It was nice." Ruthie wasn't even thinking about Martin anymore. "Do you have any more?"

"Of course, babe." Ruthie waited for him to continue.

"Well?" She was suddenly impatient. The effects of the single joint were beginning to wear off.

"Well, what?" Ryan asked, indignantly. "What? You expect another free pop?"

Ruthie was silent for a moment. Of course, she was expecting some more for free. She hadn't realized that he would charge her for this. "I guess." She paused again. "How much do you want?"

"Ten bucks." Ryan started. "A joint."

Ruthie gasped audibly. That was a lot. She wasn't thinking clearly when she replied. "I'll have the money tomorrow in school." She was suddenly drained. After a perfunctory "goodnight" she fell quickly asleep.

Ruthie woke up hours later to her blaring alarm clock. She glanced at the clock. 7:00 am. She had overslept. None of her homework was done, and she didn't have enough time to take a shower without being late for school. Her head throbbed. She slowly sat up and managed to throw books into her backpack. She changed her top and pulled her curly hair back into a messy bun. She caught a glimpse of her reflection. Her eyes were rimmed with red and she looked terrible. She grabbed some eye drops and headed for the kitchen. Thankfully, her dad was off to work already and her mom was too busy wrangling the twins to notice her grab a muffin and slip out the door.

Ruthie walked all the way to school. She picked at her muffin, but didn't really eat much. She ended up throwing it away before walking into the school building.

She made her way towards her locker, knowing it was going to be a bad day at school. She was fussing with her locker when she felt someone grab her shoulders from behind. Shocked and surprised, she turned around to see the offender. Martin. She blinked. Was this a dream? Was she imagining him there?

"Hey you." He greeted. When she didn't respond, he continued. "Ruthie? Is everything okay?"

"You're… here?" Ruthie stammered.

"Yeah, just to pick up some homework. Thought I'd say hi." Martin seemed more concerned than pissed off at Ruthie's odd behavior.

"But… I… you… can't … be…"

"Ruthie, what's going on?" She dropped her eyes to focus as best she could on a spot on the floor. "Look at me." It was an order, almost, and Ruthie couldn't help but meet his intense gaze. It was as if a lightning struck inside of Martin's head. Maybe it was Ruthie's oddly detached behavior. Perhaps it was the red around her eyes.

"Are you… high?" His tone wasn't accusatory. Even still, the words were hard to say.

"What? No! Of course not…"

Martin cut her off. "No, no, no… tell me you did not smoke pot!" Martin kept his voice low. He could smell it all over her. He was surprised none of the other Camdens had noticed it.

Ruthie looked up at him shame-faced.

"I cannot believe you would be this… stupid!" Martin's voice grew in strength.

"Me? Stupid? What about you… Mr. Teen Father Of The Year?" Ruthie turned around and got closer to him. "I don't need any lectures from you." With that she turned around and stalked off in the opposite direction. Martin ran to catch up with her.

Oddly enough, Ruthie didn't want Martin anymore. At least, not that moment. She had felt so high with the marijuana… and now she felt so low. Ironically enough, now it was Martin's turn to chase Ruthie. Only this time, for very different reasons.


	3. Kevin Knows Best

**Hola again! I know, I know, it's been way way way too long since I last updated this story. It's my only 7th Heaven fanfiction (but not for long). I hope you guys read and review. I promise to update quicker than I have in the past!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own 7th Heaven nor am I making any money off of this. Please, don't sue!**

**Please read and review!**

_Wow_. Martin thought, finally catching up to her. _Ruthie's pretty fast for being high…_ He stopped mid-thought. _Ruthie high?_ That made absolutely no sense. Ruthie was probably one of the most straight-laced kids he knew. She never drank. She never slept around. She never did drugs… or did she? Had she been hiding something like this, even when they were living in the same house? Was he this naïve to someone he cared about?

"What is going on with you?" Martin questioned. This time, his tone _was_ accusing. He was even getting a bit angry. He tended to do this when he saw people he cared about hurting themselves.

"Like you even care!" She screamed back. Martin signaled for her to lower her voice. "What? You want me to be quiet? Embarrassed to be seen with me or something?" Martin grabbed her arm and led her to an empty hallway. "Get your hands off of me!" She yelled.

"Of course I care about you." Martin's voice was soft. "And I'm not leaving you here like this…" He raised his voice slightly. "Come on." He added, with more force. "We'll tell the nurse you aren't feeling well."

All of a sudden, Ruthie seemed to get her bearings back. She was in school. Standing next to Martin. This had felt so much like a dream… but it wasn't. A single tear slipped down her cheek. Martin dropped his backpack and wrapped his arms around his friend.

"Shhh…" He soothed. "It's gonna be okay."

Ruthie tried mumbling through her sobs, but Martin couldn't understand her. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

"Come on, Ruthie." Martin finally let go, but kept his arm around her shoulders. Hair had slipped out of Ruthie's messy bun and was now covering her eyes. Gently, Martin wiped the tears that were still tricking down her face. At least now, it looked like Ruthie's eyes were red from crying, not pot.

The bell for class had not yet rung when Ruthie and Martin arrived at the nurse's office.

"Can I help you?" The school nurse asked. She was very young, probably not even out of her twenties. She looked slightly tired, but not unkind.

"Um… I'm not feeling so well…" Ruthie squeaked out.

"What's your name?" The nurse asked. She got up and walked over to a file cabinet.

"Ruthie." Ruthie answered. "Ruthie Camden."

"Okay, Ruthie." She pulled out a file and began reading. "What's wrong?"

Ruthie shot Martin a look. The nurse didn't notice. "Um… my stomach. I threw up." She lied. This was the only sure fire way to get sent home from school. Ruthie put her hand on her lower abdomen for added affect. She sniffled.

"Oh, honey. It's okay." The nurse comforted. "Do you want to go home?"

Ruthie nodded.

"Okay… well, how can I reach your parents? Should I call the house?"

Uh-oh. Ruthie panicked. In her high, she hadn't really realized that the nurse would call her parents. They would know she wasn't sick. They would be able to tell something was wrong. Or maybe she could fool her parents… she had been doing a lot of lying already. That was just not a risk she was willing to take right now. She sighed.

"Ruthie?" The nurse asked again, when she didn't answer right away. "You okay?"

"Yeah… um… my parents aren't at home right now." She lied again. Actually, she wasn't sure if it was a lie or not. She knew her dad was at work, but she was pretty sure her mom was at home. Martin shot her a look.

"I could take her home." Martin offered. "The Camdens were my legal guardians when my dad was in Iraq. I'm Martin. Martin Brewer."

"Don't you have to get to class?"

Martin blushed. "I… transferred. I just came in to talk to a teacher about some missing work. I'm on my way home anyway."

The nurse looked conflicted. She could tell that Ruthie was sick. She didn't like the idea of keeping a sick girl at school, but she knew she just couldn't let Martin take her home. "Well, we can't release Ruthie without parental consent…" She felt so bad, so she continued. "But, if we get consent, you can give her a ride home."

Ruthie gulped. This meant that the nurse would have to call the house.

"I know that you said nobody was home… but I'll have to check anyway." She picked up the black school-issued telephone and dialed the Camdens' number. One ring. Ruthie held her breath. Two rings. Three rings. She released her breath. One more ring and then it would go to the answering machine.

"Hello? This is Ruthie Camden's school." The nurse started. Ruthie was sure she was talking to the answering machine, but she was sadly mistaken.

"Hi. Is something wrong?" a voice on the other end answered.

"I'm afraid not. Ruthie is not feeling too well… and we need consent to send her home."

"Of course. She can come home. Should I go pick her up?"

"No. Martin Brewer is here and says that he can give her a ride home… of course, if you allow that."

"Yes. Of course."

"Would you like to talk to Ruthie?" The nurse asked.

"Sure."

"Hello?" Ruthie greeted, expecting to talk to a very concerned mother.

"Hey." Lucy greeted in return. When Ruthie didn't reply, she continued. "Probably expecting to talk to mom, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, she had some errands, so I came over with Savannah to help her with some cooking for dinner tonight." She explained. "Work at the church was slow today."

"Oh, okay."

"Well, how are you feeling? Anything I can get you before you get here?"

The worry in Lucy's voice tugged at Ruthie's heart. Her sister was so concerned when Ruthie had gotten high and then lied about it.

"No, thanks." She started. "Well, me and Martin will be home soon. Love you."

"Love you too." Lucy hung up the phone. She looked over at Savannah. "Something isn't right, baby. But mommy's going to figure it out." Savannah giggled. She was always smiling. Lucy felt so lucky to have such a good baby, even though she wasn't really a baby anymore. She heard a knock on the door. _Maybe mom's home already?_ Lucy thought. She picked up Savannah out of her high chair and walked towards the door. She opened the door.

It was Kevin.

She leaned in and planted a kiss right on his lips. He wrapped his arms around his beautiful wife and baby. Then he gently lifted Savannah out of Lucy's arms.

"Have I told you how much I love you?"

"Only twelve times today…" Lucy responded. "I love you too, babe."

"Guess what?" Kevin prompted his wife.

"What?"

"I got the rest of the day off of work!" When Lucy didn't immediately respond happily, Kevin continued. "What?"

"Ruthie… her school just called. She's sick and is coming home early."

"That's too bad. Is she okay?"

"She didn't sound okay on the phone…"

"Where's mom?" Kevin asked. He knew that Eric had to work.

"Out… running errands. She said that she wouldn't be back until this afternoon."

"I see…" Kevin began. "You look exhausted." He added. And she did. "You get any sleep last night?"

"Not really." Lucy added, hoping not to sound stupid or childlike. "I couldn't sleep. I've been having this really bad feeling…"

"Why didn't you say anything?" Kevin's voice was full of concern.

Embarrassed, she meekly added. "I don't know." Kevin shot her a look. "I thought you'd think I was being stupid."

"I **never** think you're stupid. I love you."

Lucy blushed. "I love you too."

"Why don't you take Savannah back home and I'll wait here for Ruthie till your mom gets home. Then, you'll be rested… and we can have a nice night out together."

"But… the cooking…"

"I can take care of that." He handed Savannah back to his wife. "Bye bye Savannah!" Savannah waved back at her daddy. Kevin kissed his daughter on the top of her head and then kissed his wife.

Lucy reluctantly left for her house, leaving Kevin to take care of the cooking and Ruthie as soon as she got home.

Back at the school, the nurse signed the appropriate forms, and Martin and Ruthie were on their way home. Martin had not said a single thing to Ruthie since they had left the nurse's office. When Martin pulled up to Ruthie's house, he immediately locked the car doors.

"What the…" Ruthie started.

"We need to talk."

"I don't wanna talk about it." She said vehemently.

"Well, we're going to." Over the past few years, Ruthie seemed more and more like a little sister to him, along with being a friend.

Ruthie struggled with what to do. She couldn't tell Martin that he was the reason she smoked pot in the first place. But she was so scared that he would tell her parents if she didn't talk to him.

"Right now?" Ruthie's voice was weak. "Can't we talk later?"

"I guess…" Martin started. "But you have to promise me one thing."

"What?"

"No more pot." Martin stated firmly.

Ruthie had completely forgotten about getting more pot that day from Ryan. She still had the money she was going to use in her pocket. She bit her lip.

"Tell me you don't have any more." Martin's voice shot up.

"I don't…"

"Don't you dare lie to me!" Martin's possessiveness both scared her and comforted her at the same time.

"I don't. I promise."

"Okay, let's go inside." Martin unlocked the door. "But, we are going to talk more later."

"Okay." Ruthie conceded. "But… you won't tell anyone about this, right?"

Martin paused. He wasn't sure what was the right thing. "No more pot? I won't say a word. But, if I even suspect you've been doing pot, drinking, I'm telling your parents."

Ruthie nodded. She'd have to be much more careful around him than she had been in the past.

She opened the door, and Martin followed. "Hello?" Ruthie announced weakly when she walked in the door.

Kevin appeared from the kitchen, wearing his uniform underneath an apron that proudly proclaimed, "Kiss The Cook!"

"Ruthie… how're you…" Kevin stopped mid sentence. He was a police officer. He had been trained to know when someone was on drugs. The tell tale red-rimmed eyes. Ruthie's whole demeanor screamed pot. Ruthie was still too out of it to know that Kevin knew what she had done.

"Young lady!" He raised his voice. This was the first time Kevin had ever called her _Young Lady_. She raised her head and met his eyes. "Have you been smoking…_pot?_"

Ruthie's eyes grew about as big as Oreo cookies. Fear danced in them. "Of course not!" She replied, defiantly.

Kevin walked up to her. He could still smell the faint stench of cannabis. "Ruthie! I cannot believe you. You are in **a lot** of trouble!"

No amount of convincing or sweet-talking could save her now…


End file.
